"I myself am the bread of life. No one who comes to me shall ever be hungry, no one who believes in me shall ever thirst . . . . He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has life eternal and I will raise him up on the last day" (Jn 6:35 and 54). The bread and wine at Mass, "By the words of Christ and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, become Christ's Body and Blood" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1333).
"The Church draws
her life from the Eucharist. This truth does not simply express a daily
experience of faith, but recapitulates the heart of the mystery of the
Church. In a variety of ways she joyfully experiences the constant fulfilment
of the promise: 'Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age' (Mt
28:20), but in the Holy Eucharist, through the changing of bread and wine
into the body and blood of the Lord, she rejoices in this presence with
unique intensity. Ever since Pentecost, when the Church, the People of
the New Covenant, began her pilgrim journey towards her heavenly homeland,
the Divine Sacrament has continued to mark the passing of her days, filling
them with confident hope.
"The Second
Vatican Council rightly proclaimed that the Eucharistic sacrifice is 'the
source and summit of the Christian life'. 'For the most holy Eucharist
contains the Church's entire spiritual wealth: Christ himself, our passover
and living bread. Through his own flesh, now made living and life-giving
by the Holy Spirit, he offers life to men'. Consequently the gaze of the
Church is constantly turned to her Lord, present in the Sacrament of the
Altar, in which she discovers the full manifestation of his boundless love."
"Every commitment
to holiness, every activity aimed at carrying out the Church's mission,
every work of pastoral planning, must draw the strength it needs from the
Eucharistic mystery and in turn be directed to that mystery as its culmination.
In
the Eucharist we have Jesus, we have his redemptive sacrifice, we have
his resurrection, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit, we have adoration,
obedience and love of the Father. Were we to disregard the Eucharist,
how could we overcome our own deficiency? (Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia
de Eucharistia, 1 & 60).
"Indeed, this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks upon the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life. Him I will raise up on the last day" (Jn 6:40).
"It is pleasant to spend time with him, to lie close to his breast like the Beloved Disciple (cf. Jn 13:25) and to feel the infinite love present in his heart. If in our time Christians must be distinguished above all by the 'art of prayer', how can we not feel a renewed need to spend time in spiritual converse, in silent adoration, in heartfelt love before Christ present in the Most Holy Sacrament? How often, dear brother and sisters, have I experienced this, and drawn from it strength, consolation and support!" (Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 25).
"Give me Thy grace to long for Thine
holy Sacraments, and specially to rejoice in the presence of Thy very blessed
Body, Sweet Saviour Christ, in the Holy Sacrament of the altar" (St. Thomas
More of England, Husband, Father, Lawyer, Martyr--Feast day, June 22).
The Divine Praises
Blessed be God.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
Blessed be His Holy Name.
Blessed be the great Mother of God,
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God,
and true Man.
Mary most holy.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus.
Blessed be her holy and Immaculate Conception.
Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart.
Blessed be her glorious Assumption.
Blessed be His Most Precious Blood.
Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.
Blessed be Jesus
Blessed be St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse.
in the Most Holy Sacrament
of the Altar.
Blessed be God in His angels and in His saints.
Feast of Pentecost--June 8
"The Descent Of The Holy Spirit
Upon The Apostles And Our Lady (Acts 2:1-4): The apostles were gathered
around Mary in prayer when the Holy Spirit descended upon them as tongues
of fire! That same fire of Divine Love inflames Jesus in The Eucharist,
where
the love of God is poured into each of our hearts. Come Holy
Spirit And Renew The Face Of The Earth!" (From our new A-13 "The
Eucharistic Rosary" pamphlet).
Feast in Honor of the Most
Blessed Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit--June 15
"The Eucharistic gift assumes
even more awesome proportions when we reflect that the Son of God present
herein is ever united, intimately and indivisibly, with his co-Persons
in the Trinity--his Eternal Father and their mutual Spirit of Love;
which means that they, too, are mysteriously yet really with him, and consequently
with us no less. In effect, then, the total Eucharistic mystery
includes the presence of both the Father and the Holy Spirit as
an inseparable concomitant. That is, the Blessed Sacrament
embraces the Trinitarian mystery within its compass" (Mary &
The Eucharist, Fr. Richard Foley, S.J.).
Feast of Corpus Christi, The
Body and Blood of Christ--June 22
"Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament,
hours of adoration, Eucharistic processions, especially on the feast of
Corpus Christi, and Eucharistic congresses concentrate our attention
on the One who is the Bread of life, life itself. They remind
and give witness to all that man does not live by bread alone" (John Paul
II, 47 Intl. Eucharistic Congress, June 2000).
Birth of St. John the Baptist--June
24
"John the Baptist saw Jesus and
exclaimed 'Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.'
'It is He who will baptize with The Holy Spirit.' When
we go to 'The Lamb,' Jesus in The Holy Eucharist, we ask for grace
to live out our Baptismal calling as faithful children of The Father"(From
our new A-13 Rosary pamphlet).
Feast of the Sacred Heart
of Jesus--June 27
"Let every knee bend before Thee,
O greatness of my God, so supremely humbled in the sacred Host. May
every heart love Thee, every spirit adore Thee, and every will be subject
to Thee!" (St. Margaret Mary). "The heart of the Catholic faith is the
Blessed Sacrament; the heart of the Blessed Sacrament is the Sacred Heart
of Jesus. In gratitude for the gift of life the Sacred Heart of Jesus
should be the heart of my heart and the soul of my soul!" (From the new
book Does This Shock You?, by Louis Kaczmarek, available through
us).
Feast of the Immaculate Heart
of Mary--June 28
"As with prayer directed to the
Father, so, too, when it is addressed to the Holy Spirit, a feast of faith
and devotion beckons us, especially during adoration of the Blessed
Sacrament. For the heart of Jesus beating there burns with love
both divine and human--a love kindled within him by the Third Person.
And his Eucharistic Heart is closely united with the Immaculate Heart of
his mother--the masterpiece of the Holy Spirit" (Mary & the Eucharist,
Fr. Richard Foley, S.J.).
Start Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in your parish today! Help bring everyone to the Sacred Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, in Adoration, to honor the Most Blessed Trinity! Please be generous with your prayers & donations, we need your help to do this work!
Contact us for information, to schedule
a Missionary, or obtain materials:
M.B.S., P.O. Box 1701, Plattsburgh,
NY 12901 (518) 561-8193 www.ACFP2000.com
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Blessed Sacrament. All rights reserved.